Ali Partovi: Why Learning to Code Is Imperative In Public Education

“Education is about preparing kids for life, and public education is about helping people have equal opportunity, helping those who don’t have as much money have a more level playing field,” said Ali Partovi, co-founder of Code.org, in an interview at the Big Ideas Fest a few months ago.

Partovi has an ambitious goal: To get public high schools to offer computer programming classes — not just as an elective, but as a science requirement. “It’s absolutely relevant for public education to embrace computer science,” he said. “I can’t think of any other science that would better prepare you for life in the 21st century.”

Partovi’s goal is being realized in pockets around the country. Through efforts like Hour of Code, a viral online campaign to promote coding, more than 20,000 teachers have started adding programming lessons, which Code.org for which offers free classes. What’s more, “30 school districts, including New York City and Chicago, have agreed to add coding classes in the fall, mainly in high schools but in lower grades, too. And policy makers in nine states have begun awarding the same credits for computer science classes that they do for basic math and science courses, rather than treating them as electives,” according to an article in the New York Times.

Kids definitely should be exposed to/taking more technology and computer related courses. I’ve been taking online courses from LearnToProgram and just recently finished creating my first app. Because of the huge presence of technology, knowing the underlying code and workings of websites and applications is important. If anyone wants to start learning how to code I would suggest becoming a member of LearnToProgram. They offer their membership half off for the first month, here’s a link. https://learntoprogram.tv/course/ultimate-monthly-bundle/?coupon=EMAIL414&src=eb

Summer break presents the perfect opportunity for students to dig into games and build skills that’ll reap huge rewards when they return in the fall. Game making can be one of the best ways to get students thinking creatively while cultivating useful technical literacies, and there’s a ton of absorbing tools that students won’t tire of over the long break. Here are three options to choose from depending on the type of technology students have at home.

For educators who are interested in using games for learning — specifically towards developing skills as they relate to the Common Core State Standards — here are five games students can enjoy and that we’ve found sync with standards.

The success and popularity of Minecraft in and out of classrooms is no surprise. It’s one of the best examples of the potential of learning with games because it embraces exploration, discovery, creation, collaboration, and problem-solving while allowing teachers to shepherd play toward any subject area. But Minecraft is not the only game of this kind. Take a look at some of these.